ciel

No heat records were broken here, warm in the morning, around 18C, but a waft of cloud/fog ingressed from the north and north-east during the afternoon – then cleared - leaving a sunny 20C late afternoon and early evening. On the east coast earlier during the morning at Arbroath it was a mere 14C. Now overcast, but still feeling mild-ish and humid. Altogether it was a typical Scottish summer day.

A couple of immigrant species which have been quite abundant over the past few days. Usually they turn up hereabouts end July – September. Painted Lady SilverY moth The Small Tortoiseshell normally the most numerous at this time of year is almost absent at the moment – except for this slightly tattered one.

A superb evening tonight with a clear sunny sky and only a slight breeze to detract. Maybe a temp around 17-18C? Actually yesterday morning and this one 'felt' like summer for the first time this year in the garden, with the sound of bumble bees, honey bees buzzing, and also the appearance of several butterflies for the first time.

Well, it’s been a grey day hereabouts, currently steady moderate rain falling and feeling very humid. I thought I heard a rumble or two earlier, but it was just my old doggie snoring under the kitchen table. The east coast storms, according to the radar, are drifting off into the N Sea.

The dog had an 'extra' walk yesterday evening while I calmed down after watching a certain TV programme! Watching the sunset was quite therapeutic. Today has started off sunny with some build up of cumulus now, slight breeze and feeling a little warmer than of late, not too bad.

I would agree @Hairy Celt. The medieval citadel is well worth a visit but the surroundings can be an unbearably, hot, dusty ( sometimes windy) coastal plain. @Ravelin I'm green with envy, and still tossing up whether or not to arrange September in France or a week on the Scottish west coast. If you are spending some time in that region, maybe take time to see the relatively unvisited Jaur valley, in particular the village of Olargue, and the Espinouse mountains, a little bit north of your destination?

The main feature of the weather today is a brisk north wind; otherwise cloudy, threatening rain and 9C. To sum up it's nae nice outside. Is this pic below a 'weak' example of a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave?

It was here too with long sunny spells earlier, but now clouded over, feeling cool and spitting rain. Not sunbathing weather....unless you have a fur coat.

At approx. 09:15 there's around 90% mainly high cloud cover with the sun 'trying' to break through, and a breeze from the N-ish keeping temp on the cool side. I'm off shortly to Dunbar and Co'path. Unfortunately, the forecast and radar seem rather grim for that area!

A bright, morning with little wind and feeling quite warm in the sun, and a nice sky too.

The rain belt that was over my location Weds night and this morning moved north this afternoon leaving in it's wake a fine clear late afternoon and evening, quite mild too. I've been out trying to get bat pics - unsucessfully - but managed to get a middle finger trapped in a slat on the patio table. It was freed with a loud painful snap! Currently- 11pm - sitting with hand in a bowl of ice.

Whats more, after listening today to the WW11 veterans personal experiences and the resilience shown by them, complaints about a wee bit heat, humidity, sun, birdsong or cold, pales into insignificance.

Yes, all Im saying is...stop moaning and whining about seasonal weather. It's been the same for decades

I would hate to live in a constantly gloomy, silent word, devoid of the sounds and colours of nature. Come to think of it, even grass would not grow in cold darkness or limited light, so where would you find bread and meat for your table? Yes, I know individuals have seasonal/weather preferences, but surely a more pragmatic approach to seasonal weather and daylight length would be sensible and improve wellbeing i.e. by adjusting lifestyle accordingly. You know winter will be upon us again in a flash of time.

It’s a continuation of the dank grey cold weather today and the short-term prospects don’t bode well either. Apart from having a negative effect on mood (for me anyway), the lack of bright sunlight has impacted the early summer flowering garden plants. For example, the perennial poppy buds are struggling to open, in fact some are beginning to decompose, and the foxgloves only have one or two flowers near the base of the stem while those buds further up are tightly closed and don’t look like blooming anytime soon. The nepeta also, which usually in June is buzzing with bees and other insects is having a half-hearted lifeless attempt to flower.

Today was one of the ‘better’ recent days here, if not warm/hottish (in terms of a Scottish summer), at least the laundry dried outside. However, the sky is filling in now and rain is imminent. I would love a period of clear skies to scan for noctilucents.

At least it’s not raining this morning with some glimpses of sun; temp 9C and a hint of a SW breeze, but certainly not feeling summery. I am starting to regret not planning a French holiday this year due to uncertainties about the brexit nonsense and possible additional dog passport requirements. A couple of pics from earlier:

Visited SWT Montrose Visitor Centre this afternoon. A view of the ‘Tern Raft’ with a couple of Common Terns resting there but no signs of nesting by either the Common or Arctic species. The history of the raft project is quite interesting though. https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/2017/07/whistle-stop-tour-tern-raft/ Also, the man-made Sand Martin wall was deserted, with the last sighting of one bird on 20 May.

I think the bird is a Chaffinch with quite a prominent white wing-bar? You can compare the features of the two species in the link below. https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bullfinch/

Yes, I remember that eerie event quite vividly.

I think, emphasise think, it is a Wall Butterfly, @Polar Maritime.